Hola,
I'm new to the Camino but I have a lot of experience on bikes. I'm just about to set off solo on the Camino del Norte. I'd like to share my plans for any advice and comments, especially with the current situation around COVID and what is open or not.
I'm Irish, 37 yo, and I live in Barcelona. Being Irish, I prefer the northern coastal camino. I am planning to take a train from Barcelona to Pamplona and start on my gravel bike from there. I have a very good carbon gravel bike, carbon, shimano Ultegra, etc, and I have decked it out with two 20litre Decathlon panniers and it is probably in better condition than I am for the camino! Im planning around 10kg, of clothes etc, and I am not carring a tent or heavy sleeping bag.
I'm quite experienced with multiday hiking and biking, and my weekend rides in Barcelona are mostly on mountain bike with around 30km to 40km and 1,000m to 1,500m of climbing. With the camino my plan is between 60km to 100km per day depending on weather, climbs, and my physical state.
I have aroudn 18-19 days of flexibility, basically the rest of July. From the forums my plan is more or less as follows:
- Barcelona -Pamplona in train with bike disassembled. One night in Pamplona
- Pamplona-Irun - 1 day on bike 90km more or less
- Irun-Oviedo-Santiago 12-15 days (I will more or less follow two trails I found on Wikiloc of 12 and 14 days)
- If all goes well I will do Santiago-Muxia-Finesterre-Santiago over 2-3 days at the end
- Santiago Barcelona by plane or train at the end of the month
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Questions
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- COVID - Is the camino del norte open, are there people on it, is it acceptable to be on it by bike solo?
- In Irun the albergues are closed officially, but I dont mind booking private. What worries me is will I miss out on the most of the camino experience by not meeting a lot of other people in the evenings. Any comments on private accomodation that I should keep in mind along the way?
- On bike is it necessary to reserve accomodation in advance? My preference is to book only Pamplona and Irun for the first two nights, and everything else depending on the day.
- Being Irish I understand that weather forecasting is impossible. But in the north I see it rains around 12 days a month. Any recommendations on warm clothes I will need for the bike or evenings? And when it rains, does it rain all day, or is heavy showers for a few hours?
- Are there any sections that are notoriously windy, or is it impossible to predict?
Thanks, all comments welcome.
Michael
I'm new to the Camino but I have a lot of experience on bikes. I'm just about to set off solo on the Camino del Norte. I'd like to share my plans for any advice and comments, especially with the current situation around COVID and what is open or not.
I'm Irish, 37 yo, and I live in Barcelona. Being Irish, I prefer the northern coastal camino. I am planning to take a train from Barcelona to Pamplona and start on my gravel bike from there. I have a very good carbon gravel bike, carbon, shimano Ultegra, etc, and I have decked it out with two 20litre Decathlon panniers and it is probably in better condition than I am for the camino! Im planning around 10kg, of clothes etc, and I am not carring a tent or heavy sleeping bag.
I'm quite experienced with multiday hiking and biking, and my weekend rides in Barcelona are mostly on mountain bike with around 30km to 40km and 1,000m to 1,500m of climbing. With the camino my plan is between 60km to 100km per day depending on weather, climbs, and my physical state.
I have aroudn 18-19 days of flexibility, basically the rest of July. From the forums my plan is more or less as follows:
- Barcelona -Pamplona in train with bike disassembled. One night in Pamplona
- Pamplona-Irun - 1 day on bike 90km more or less
- Irun-Oviedo-Santiago 12-15 days (I will more or less follow two trails I found on Wikiloc of 12 and 14 days)
- If all goes well I will do Santiago-Muxia-Finesterre-Santiago over 2-3 days at the end
- Santiago Barcelona by plane or train at the end of the month
=======================
Questions
-----------
- COVID - Is the camino del norte open, are there people on it, is it acceptable to be on it by bike solo?
- In Irun the albergues are closed officially, but I dont mind booking private. What worries me is will I miss out on the most of the camino experience by not meeting a lot of other people in the evenings. Any comments on private accomodation that I should keep in mind along the way?
- On bike is it necessary to reserve accomodation in advance? My preference is to book only Pamplona and Irun for the first two nights, and everything else depending on the day.
- Being Irish I understand that weather forecasting is impossible. But in the north I see it rains around 12 days a month. Any recommendations on warm clothes I will need for the bike or evenings? And when it rains, does it rain all day, or is heavy showers for a few hours?
- Are there any sections that are notoriously windy, or is it impossible to predict?
Thanks, all comments welcome.
Michael